Proverbs 28:27

28:27 The one who gives to the poor will not lack, ¹ 

but whoever shuts his eyes to them ²  will receive ³  many curses. ⁴ 

Job 29:13-18

29:13 the blessing of the dying man descended on me, ⁵ 

and I made the widow’s heart rejoice; ⁶ 

29:14 I put on righteousness and it clothed me, ⁷ 

my just dealing ⁸  was like a robe and a turban;

29:15 I was eyes for the blind

and feet for the lame;

29:16 I was a father ⁹  to the needy,

and I investigated the case of the person I did not know;

29:17 I broke the fangs ¹⁰  of the wicked,

and made him drop ¹¹  his prey from his teeth.

Job’s Confidence

29:18 “Then I thought, ‘I will die in my own home, ¹² 

my days as numerous as the grains of sand. ¹³ 

Job 31:16-20

31:16 If I have refused to give the poor what they desired, ¹⁴ 

or caused the eyes of the widow to fail,

31:17 If I ate my morsel of bread myself,

and did not share any of it with orphans ¹⁵  –

31:18 but from my youth I raised the orphan ¹⁶  like a father,

and from my mother’s womb ¹⁷ 

I guided the widow! ¹⁸ 

31:19 If I have seen anyone about to perish for lack of clothing,

or a poor man without a coat,

31:20 whose heart did not bless me ¹⁹ 

as he warmed himself with the fleece of my sheep, ²⁰ 

Isaiah 32:8

32:8 An honorable man makes honorable plans;

his honorable character gives him security. ²¹ 

Isaiah 58:7-11

58:7 I want you ²²  to share your food with the hungry

and to provide shelter for homeless, oppressed people. ²³ 

When you see someone naked, clothe him!

Don’t turn your back on your own flesh and blood! ²⁴ 

58:8 Then your light will shine like the sunrise; ²⁵ 

your restoration will quickly arrive; ²⁶ 

your godly behavior ²⁷  will go before you,

and the Lord’s splendor will be your rear guard. ²⁸ 

58:9 Then you will call out, and the Lord will respond;

you will cry out, and he will reply, ‘Here I am.’

You must ²⁹  remove the burdensome yoke from among you

and stop pointing fingers and speaking sinfully.

58:10 You must ³⁰  actively help the hungry

and feed the oppressed. ³¹ 

Then your light will dispel the darkness, ³² 

and your darkness will be transformed into noonday. ³³ 

58:11 The Lord will continually lead you;

he will feed you even in parched regions. ³⁴ 

He will give you renewed strength, ³⁵ 

and you will be like a well-watered garden,

like a spring that continually produces water.

Matthew 5:7

5:7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.

Matthew 25:34-35

25:34 Then the king will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 25:35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in,

[28:27]  ¹ sn The generous individual will be rewarded. He will not lack nor miss what he has given away to the poor.

[28:27]  ² tn Heb “hides his eyes”; “to them” is supplied in the translation to indicate the link with the poor in the preceding line. Hiding or closing the eyes is a metonymy of cause or of adjunct, indicating a decision not to look on and thereby help the poor. It could also be taken as an implied comparison, i.e., not helping the poor is like closing the eyes to them.

[28:27]  ³ tn The term “receives” is not in the Hebrew text but is implied, and is supplied in the translation.

[28:27]  ⁴ sn The text does not specify the nature or the source of the curses. It is natural to think that they would be given by the poor who are being mistreated and ignored. Far from being praised for their contributions to society, selfish, stingy people will be reviled for their heartless indifference.

[29:13]  ⁵ tn The verb is simply בּוֹא (bo’, “to come; to enter”). With the preposition עַל (’al, “upon”) it could mean “came to me,” or “came upon me,” i.e., descended (see R. Gordis, Job, 320).

[29:13]  ⁶ tn The verb אַרְנִן (’arnin) is from רָנַן (ranan, “to give a ringing cry”) but here “cause to give a ringing cry,” i.e., shout of joy. The rejoicing envisioned in this word is far greater than what the words “sing” or “rejoice” suggest.

[29:14]  ⁹ tn Both verbs in this first half-verse are from לָבַשׁ (lavash, “to clothe; to put on clothing”). P. Joüon changed the vowels to get a verb “it adorned me” instead of “it clothed me” (Bib 11 [1930]: 324). The figure of clothing is used for the character of the person: to wear righteousness is to be righteous.

[29:14]  ¹⁰ tn The word מִשְׁפָּטִי (mishpati) is simply “my justice” or “my judgment.” It refers to the decisions he made in settling issues, how he dealt with other people justly.

[29:16]  ¹³ sn The word “father” does not have a wide range of meanings in the OT. But there are places that it is metaphorical, especially in a legal setting like this where the poor need aid.

[29:17]  ¹⁷ tn The word rendered “fangs” actually means “teeth,” i.e., the molars probably; it is used frequently of the teeth of wild beasts. Of course, the language is here figurative, comparing the oppressing enemy to a preying animal.

[29:17]  ¹⁸ tn “I made [him] drop.” The verb means “to throw; to cast,” throw in the sense of “to throw away.” But in the context with the figure of the beast with prey in its mouth, “drop” or “cast away” is the idea. Driver finds another cognate meaning “rescue” (see AJSL 52 [1935/36]: 163).

[29:18]  ²¹ tc The expression in the MT is “with my nest.” The figure is satisfactory for the context – a home with all the young together, a picture of unity and safety. In Isa 16:2 the word can mean “nestlings,” and with the preposition “with” that might be the meaning here, except that his children had grown up and lived in their own homes. The figure cannot be pushed too far. But the verse apparently has caused enormous problems, because the versions offer a variety of readings and free paraphrases. The LXX has “My age shall grow old as the stem of a palm tree, I shall live a long time.” The Vulgate has, “In my nest I shall die and like the palm tree increase my days.” G. R. Driver found an Egyptian word meaning “strength” (“Birds in the Old Testament,” PEQ 87 [1955]: 138-39). Several read “in a ripe old age” instead of “in my nest” (Pope, Dhorme; see P. P. Saydon, “Philological and Textual Notes to the Maltese Translation of the Old Testament,” CBQ 23 [1961]: 252). This requires the verb זָקַן (zaqan, “be old”), i.e., בִּזְקוּנַי (bizqunay, “in my old age”) instead of קִנִּי (qinni, “my nest”). It has support from the LXX.

[29:18]  ²² tc For חוֹל (khol, “sand”) the LXX has a word that is “like the palm tree,” but which could also be translated “like the phoenix” (cf. NAB, NRSV). This latter idea was developed further in rabbinical teaching (see R. Gordis, Job, 321). See also M. Dahood, “Nest and phoenix in Job 29:18,” Bib 48 (1967): 542-44. But the MT yields an acceptable sense here.

[31:16]  ²⁵ tn Heb “kept the poor from [their] desire.”

[31:17]  ²⁹ tn Heb “and an orphan did not eat from it.”

[31:18]  ³³ tn Heb “he grew up with me.” Several commentators have decided to change the pronoun to “I,” and make it causative.

[31:18]  ³⁴ tn The expression “from my mother’s womb” is obviously hyperbolic. It is a way of saying “all his life.”

[31:18]  ³⁵ tn Heb “I guided her,” referring to the widow mentioned in v. 16.

[31:20]  ³⁷ tn The MT has simply “if his loins did not bless me.” In the conditional clause this is another protasis. It means, “if I saw someone dying and if he did not thank me for clothing them.” It is Job’s way of saying that whenever he saw a need he met it, and he received his share of thanks – which prove his kindness. G. R. Driver has it “without his loins having blessed me,” taking “If…not” as an Aramaism, meaning “except” (AJSL 52 [1935/36]: 164f.).

[31:20]  ³⁸ tn This clause is interpreted here as a subordinate clause to the first half of the verse. It could also be a separate clause: “was he not warmed…?”

[32:8]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “and he upon honorable things stands.”

[58:7]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “Is it not?” The rhetorical question here expects a positive answer, “It is!”

[58:7]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “and afflicted [ones], homeless [ones] you should bring [into] a house.” On the meaning of מְרוּדִים (mÿrudim, “homeless”) see HALOT 633 s.v. *מָרוּד.

[58:7]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “and from your flesh do not hide yourself.”

[58:8]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “will burst out like the dawn.”

[58:8]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “prosper”; KJV “spring forth speedily.”

[58:8]  ⁵¹ tn Or “righteousness.” Their godly behavior will be on display for all to see.

[58:8]  ⁵² sn The nation will experience God’s protective presence.

[58:9]  ⁵³ tn Heb “if you.” In the Hebrew text vv. 9b-10 are one long conditional sentence. The protasis (“if” clauses appear in vv. 9b-10a), with the apodosis (“then” clause) appearing in v. 10b.

[58:10]  ⁵⁷ tn Heb “if you.” See the note on “you must” in v. 9b.

[58:10]  ⁵⁸ tn Heb “If you furnish for the hungry [with] your being, and the appetite of the oppressed you satisfy.”

[58:10]  ⁵⁹ tn Heb “will rise in the darkness.”

[58:10]  ⁶⁰ tn Heb “and your darkness [will be] like noonday.”

[58:11]  ⁶¹ tn Heb “he will satisfy in parched regions your appetite.”

[58:11]  ⁶² tn Heb “and your bones he will strengthen.”